This year's summer league is fully underway, and the Atlanta Hawks may have already seen everything they needed to see out of their eighth-overall pick, Kingston Flemings.
They're not going to shut him down, of course, but if it all ended today, and the next stop was the 2026-27 regular season, they would feel very confident in what they've got.
Flemings hasn't been perfect, overall, throughout his first ever technical NBA action, but he's shown his new ball club exactly what they were looking for when they selected him. He was a great playmaker in college, and he looks to be even better on that front at the next level.
A careful, yet bold facilitator is everything the Hawks have lacked
Since the departure of Trae Young in early January, the Hawks have done well, but they still missed his presence as a shot-creator - not just for himself, but for others.
A playmaker who can be depended on isn't something that teams can often just... replace.
While Young's tenure in Atlanta will never fully be replicated, they can apply some of the positives from that era to the next one. A positive that was undeniable was Young's vision. However, even with his spectacular ability to create for his teammates, he did turn the ball over. Often.
It's still just the summer league, so overreacting to his play, in either direction, can do more harm than good, but the flashes have been insanely promising. It would be disingenuous to ignore it. Flemings has been leading an impressive Hawks offense in just three games, and is gathering high assist marks while refraining from committing turnovers.
In summer league, so far, Flemings has 22 assists compared to just three turnovers. That ratio is unbelievably elite, and it's helping Hawks fans justify his less than ideal shooting splits.
Efficiency in summer league is never a trajectory indicator
For shooting splits, that is. The best guards in the league today were inefficient in their initial summer stints, proving that it's usually nothing more than a feeling-out period for most of these players.
The best of the best, though, usually also turn the ball over often. Flemings hasn't done that, so it's perfectly reasonable to look over the way he's been struggling to score.
He's a developing player who will certainly take time to become the best version of himself, but for what it's worth, right now, he's shown the Hawks everything they needed to see.
Kingston Flemings is a point guard's point guard.
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